[Closed] nukeproof mega and double barrel

I have the stock monarch too which isn't amazing but seems fine. I also use a fox dhx4 coil but it needs a specific tune for the bike apparently to make it feel good.

I've seen a few folk using the cane creek and getting good feedback but can't afford to try it myself.
Fox shock fitted.
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Have a look at this [url= http://ride.io/forum/index.php/topic,264066.0.html ]ride.io[/url] thread.

Try Dave Garland of Stendec, he has one on his own personal Mega. Plus he probably has more experience of CCDB's than anyone else in the country.

Wait till after the weekend if you do contact him, as he's up at Fort Bill fettling Danny Harts bike at the mo. 😉

I run a Van-R on mine for alp/lakes etc,
feels great and just standard out the box.

better than the monarch which is OK.

Try Dave Garland of Stendec, he has one on his own personal Mega

Yeah I saw him at Coed y Brenin one day with it and he was saying it was great in the bike.

Has nobody tried having their Monarch tuned for them? I think I'll send mine to Loco this winter.

I'm only 12st and with the sag set right it blows through the travel too easily without any propedal. The o ring pops off on every ride...

Yep RT3 did not do it me either - good for pootling around + climbing but just did not cut it on steep fast rough descents. Lowered the IFP pressure 20psi which helped a little - but still not what I wanted.

Tried a DHX 5 coil - great for descents but not so good for climbing - as you would expect really.

Thought about the CCDB coil, got one on my DH bike + love it, but instead decided to save weight + go with another air option. Ended up going with a Monarch Plus Hi Vol Mid/Mid tune shock.

The Plus really is what I was looking for - as good as the coil on fast rocky descents + not far of the RT3 for climbing.

how heavy are you zangolin?

I had not consider the plus but it looks alot cheaper what worries be is how much damping i can acheive at 220 psi

If you can't afford a CCDB try a Vivid Coil from Germany, 190 Euros....no spring though. Make sure you get the right tune as well.

Going put one on my Mega this summer, can't justify spending 500 quid on the CCDB when the Vivid is such a good price with 98 percent of the performance.

i am a bit loathed to go coil due to weight and whole linear bit

How about;
http://locotuning.co.uk/dsp-dueler.html

they don't have the correct eye 2 eye

🙁

how heavy are you zangolin?
I had not consider the plus but it looks alot cheaper what worries be is how much damping i can acheive at 220 psi

Got my shock from [url= http://www.mountainbikebitz.com/2012-rockshox-monarch-plus-rc3-mountain-bike-tune-rear-suspension-p-20086.html ]Dirtbikebitz [/url]- Choice of interest free options also between 6 to 18 months for the shock.

I'm running a monarch plus on my covert at about 235psi, 27.5%ish (lol) sag, really good small bumpage, rides reasonably high in travel, good pedal platform, ace feel for jumping/lively feel, I used to have a ccdb, this is almost identical but a lot lighter.

Monarch Plus is proving to be an excellent shock. I got onto it from the short write up in the Dirt 100 then a friend who test bikes for a living was raving about how good the plus was - so far I would agree.

I'm toying with the idea of trying a Monarch Plus as I'm blowing through all the travel way too easily currently, even with less sag.

What tune is recommended for a Monarch Plus?

High Vol Mid/Mid - tuned Monarch Plus for the NP Mega.
See here: [url= http://www.qbp.com/diagrams/TechInfo/vivid.pdf ]http://www.qbp.com/diagrams/TechInfo/vivid.pdf[/url]

Ah, thanks fella. 🙂

reevil is your shock a high volume one? I've read that fitting some air can volume reducers can help the shock to ramp up more at the end without requiring high psi, maybe something to try?

Do these spacers exist for Rockshox or just for Fox?

Zangolin - does that tune on the plus work just for your weight or for the way the bike works?

Zangolin - does that tune on the plus work just for your weight or for the way the bike works?

Well, tune should be for rate change, not just travel as an Orange 5, say, progresses through its travel rather differently to a Mega.

Pagey has a ccdb air on his Mega.

CCDB on my mega, great shock. Fantastic for the downhills and rough stuff, tracks well going uphill but it is slower and the shock is pretty heavy.

Zangolin : Monarch Plus is proving to be an excellent shock. I got onto it from the short write up in the Dirt 100 then a friend who test bikes for a living was raving about how good the plus was - so far I would agree.

How do you find this shock over rock gardens and on drops?
This is my next big purchase for my mega as the RT3 is blowing through tavel!

I called hotlines the other day and they recommended to me the Mid Rebound and High Compress shock. Just wondering how you came to your choice of the Mid/Mid option as its alot of cash to buy the wrong tune.

I plan to call TF Tuned and see what they say aswell before I make a
purchase.

Used this link as a guide.
[url= http://www.qbp.com/diagrams/TechInfo/vivid.pdf ]http://www.qbp.com/diagrams/TechInfo/vivid.pdf[/url]
br />
Lever ratio of 2.6 on the Mega frame 150/57
Just follow the charts on the link.

I felt the standard Monarch RT3 (Med/High tune) that came with the Mega was just not right for the type of riding I do - would have preferred a Med/Med tune. I guess they have to pick a general mid point that will suit the majority of riders. Lowering the IFP pressure made the RT3 better for me - but not exactly what I wanted. I also guess I could have got the shock tuned for my weight + riding style by TFT/Loco etc. But decided against that + went for the Plus after hearing a lot of good things about the M Plus and that it would be more suited for my riding needs. I also figured that I could then go down the road of having the shock custom tuned if it was not quite right - as it is the med/med is spot on. Feels good hammering down a rocky chute or a going of big drops to flat etc.

The guys at SDH have it wrong about the Mega, it wasn't designed for an air shock specifically. In fact Nukeproofs exploded diagrams show it with a coil shock.

Anyway here's the leverage curve.

[img] [/img]

It's rising rate, so perfectly suited to a coil shock. It will make the beginning stroke suppler, the middle stroke firmer and the ending stroke suppler with a coil. (Beginning: the shock has less stiction - so plusher - Middle: Coil shocks offer more midrange support - Ending: The coil shock is less progressive so wont ramp up so much (I believe, could be bollocks).

Bikes that are specifically designed for airshocks like the Ibis HD160 have a leverage curve that is almost a mirror image of the Megas (I don't believe Nukeproof could do this with a single pivot design, so they did their best just to flatten the midstroke leverage curve and make it more linear to reduce the wallow as much as they could). Bikes like the HD160 more effectively counter the mid stroke wallow of air shocks and create a more linear ending stroke ramp up, through an aggressive inverse picture of what you see above.

I'll be changing to a Rock Shox Vivid or if I can afford it, a CCDB soon.

PS: A chap sent me a simulation force/displacement curve of a Mega with a coil shock. It shows it's firmer at the end stroke but I'm not sure this is correct.

[img] [/img]

I barely understand a word of what you're saying bwaarp, but I do know that I am totally unimpressed by the handling of my mega with both the monarch rt3 and coil dhx4. I'm sending the coil off to J-tech so we'll see.

I don't know much about suspension settings and curves but I do know that the giant reign I had before felt better than this. Shame.

I am getting more and more confused.

I am between a Monarch Plus or a Vivid. I cant really justify a CCDB for the riding I do.

I do know that the Team CRC guys run the CCDB Air shock as I seen that at Fort Bill but would like to know if its worth the addition 100notes?

Has anyone got any experience of the Mega with a Vivid or CCDB (might manage to stretch to one)? Or has anyone tuned the Standard RT3 and found that sorted the problems of blowing through the travel?

Gdub, are we taking CCDB air or coil? As I mentioned I have the coil one I picked it up 2nd hand for the same price as a vivid.

Kayak23 what is it you don't like about your megas handling?

Go for the Monarch Plus - Vivid/CCDB air are not far off the same weight as a coil shock. M.Plus is really spot on for the Mega - Friend of mine also has an M.Plus on his Mega and he has been raving about how good it is - he's out in the Alps for the summer season at the moment - so giving it a good hammering most days + it is standing up to it with no problems.

I think I will go for the Monarch Plus.
Does ur mate run the same tune?
Im planning a trip to Morzine next summer too.
Just wondering wat fork u run up front? Mine is a 170 lyrik RC2DH as I got the frame a year ago and built it myself. It is awesome frame. Never missed a beat yet!
Cheers for ur help Zangolin.

Mate is lucky enough to work as a full time bike tester/journo so had his shock custom tuned by the RS UK Techs.
Worth speaking to TFT to get a 2nd opinion on the tune though -I guess they can even custom tune the new shock if you purchase it from them.

All I can say is I'm happy with the High Vol Med/Med tune on my shock.

Lyrik UT coils up front - hopefully dual pos air in the next few months

Kayak23 what is it you don't like about your megas handling?

Hard to put my finger on it exactly but it doesn't feel as plush as my Reign felt. Putting a coil shock into my Reign was a revelation. It felt so planted and really felt a bit like my DH bike used to feel.

The same coil in the Mega just feels a bit.....meh.
The Monarch RT3 seems to feel fairly stiff and not so smooth when riding generally. I've played about with the sag but low enough to feel plusher means I max out the travel a lot.

Its a solid platform climbing etc, but downhill it just seems that it could be better, could feel as good as my Reign used to feel.

The same coil in the Mega just feels a bit.....meh.
The Monarch RT3 seems to feel fairly stiff and not so smooth when riding generally. I've played about with the sag but low enough to feel plusher means I max out the travel a lot.

CCDB fan here!
[img] [/img]

The CCDB with Ti coil still weighed about 650g, so not light, but wouldn't swap it back. It gives that planted feel my dh bike used to have in a package I can pedal all day, which is exactly what I was after.

Off to Chatel in about 3 weeks for 10 days, should be ideal 😀

thv3, that is blummin nice! Loving the silver with Ti spring, and I like your improvised bike-holder 😀

No Chain device though?

Chain device arrived and went on a couple of days later, I just didn't have the patience when it was the only part left I was waiting on to complete the build.

[img] [/img]

Only things I've changed are the joplin to a reverb, and the 60mm stem to a 50mm. I really should bring out the camera for a more up to date pic.

Everything else has given me no trouble what so ever, only wish I could say the same about the "bike-holder" 😉

How come nobody has tried the cheapest option and got their standard shock tuned?

How come nobody has tried the cheapest option and got their standard shock tuned?

I'm having my Coil DHX tuned. I figure the Monarch will do for now for general riding but I want my DH shock on top form for a Euro trip...

I ask because I intend to get Loco to do mine at the end of Summer. Although I do not use mine for DH, but I agree that it blows through the travel too easily.

Why wait until the end of the summer? Send it away at the beginning of the week, get it back for the next weekend, make the most of the summer with the right kit!

For some reason I thought he was on a longer turnaround than that.

I've only bought stuff from Loco, yet to use him for a service. However, the likes of TF Tuned are usually a one day turn around time

Lyrik UT coils up front - hopefully dual pos air in the next few months

Will the Lyrik Uturns be for sale when you get the DPA Tim? If so let me know on facebook or something, might be interested for my bullit 😀 Would be good to meet up with you guys for a ride again sometime soon as well, its been far too long!

When it happens will let you know Tom. Yep to long Tom - I've got 8 weeks holiday - coming up have to get an uplift day in somewhere Revolution when it stops raining maybe?

Revolution is a bit far for a day but a mid week FOD would be good, or a Sunday with all the mtbb lot 😀

TFT won't tune the monarch, they hate them.

I doubt going to a monarch plus will change much. It still has the spring rate characteristics of it's little brother but with a piggy back to cope with heat generation on long downhills.

Oh yeah and the Dual Position Air fork is divey as **** and your only saving 200 grams over the U-turn! Silly choice!

Hard to put my finger on it exactly but it doesn't feel as plush as my Reign felt. Putting a coil shock into my Reign was a revelation. It felt so planted and really felt a bit like my DH bike used to feel.

The same coil in the Mega just feels a bit.....meh.
The Monarch RT3 seems to feel fairly stiff and not so smooth when riding generally. I've played about with the sag but low enough to feel plusher means I max out the travel a lot.

Its a solid platform climbing etc, but downhill it just seems that it could be better, could feel as good as my Reign used to feel.

The Reign is a virtual pivot point bike, the Mega is a single pivot. Of course the shock tune needs to be different. Considerably different!

The Mega btw was given a reasonably racey firm ride to make it poppier and more controlled with an airshock. It was never going to be quite as plush, unless you find a shock with a lower compression tune.

i am a bit loathed to go coil due to weight and whole linear bit

😯 Linear is good, progressive air shocks are what cause midstroke wallow. If you are really bothered about the linearity, get an RC4 tuned and then shove a bit more air into the chamber and bump up the bottom out control. You probably wouldn't be able to use all of the travel, but hey!

Do you guys even know a smidge about suspension tech? I know **** all but more than some of the shit banded around on singletrack.

The Monarch RT3 seems to feel fairly stiff and not so smooth when riding generally. I've played about with the sag but low enough to feel plusher means I max out the travel a lot.

How long have you ridden the Monarch? It took about 40 hours of riding time before it felt like it had good small bump sensitivity, I still don't like the spring characteristics of air shocks though. I might get on more with a Vivid Air though, that was designed to mimic a coils spring rate I believe.

TBH I like the Monarch on the Mega more than the previous DHX5 on my old four bar linkage 08 SX trail.

Thv3 I notice your not running the protective sleeve on your CCDB? Do you not get any rubbing?

Personally I'm kind of with bwarrp on this one I wouldn't spend my cash on the monarch plus based on my experience with the standard one.

Oh yeah and the Dual Position Air fork is divey as **** and your only saving 200 grams over the U-turn! Silly choice!

Not really as silly choice to me - maybe to you in your "expert" opinion.
Not changing forks to loose weight - just want some new forks cos I can afford them plain and simple.
The DPAs I rode felt fine to me - had a good a few hours riding a pair.

The mega comes with a HV air can. HV air cans are generally softer in the middle and ramp up more at end of travel in comparison to a coil, the issue people are having with their monarch shocks on the megas. A standard volume air can is more progressive than a coil all the way through the stroke, no saggy middle.

As for the force displacement curves shown with various shock springs, be interesting to know what data was entered for both types of air springs, whether they are actually based on any particular air shock on the market or just guesses. It also looks like the plot has been produced with a stiffer coil spring than air springs, exaggerating the difference.

I think people are being to quick to dismiss the air shocks on their megas for silly made up reasons, when slight alteration in air can volume could be achieving the results they desire.

I also have nothing but glowing feedback for the monarch plus rc3 shock.

We are guilty of justifying our desire for
Upgrades 🙂

So true! I wouldn't dismis air shocks as such, I wouldnt mind giving something like a vivid air a try or even just an Rp23 but for my riding a coil suits me best having come from downhill bikes in the past.

thv3- CCDB fan here!

Just wondering where u got ur CCDB from?

Does anyone know dealers other than TF Tuned?

I will be getting one after my summer hols with the missus, if I have any money left over that is! I dont know whats a bigger drain on my finances just now. Her or the bike! Lol

Cheers

A standard volume air can is more progressive than a coil all the way through the stroke, no saggy middle.

The you run into issues with being unable to use all the travel when you move to a low volume can.

I spoke with the guys at TF Tuned today and they said that the Mega is great with a coil shock. And if going for one. The vivid is good, but has high repair costs if anything goes wrong/gets damaged. Where as the ccdb is not too costly to repair and can be modded to fit any other frame after for about 150quid. So if I changed frame I could keep the CCDB. I have plenty time to mull it over as I have wedding and honeymoon to worry about just now.

CCDB is looking like my choice if cash is good for it! Or a Vivid if cant manage the CCDB. Will post my results once I have done the swap!

Sweet. Vivid it is then, I don't feel like doing my head in with so many adjustments. I get obsessive enough as it is, what tune did they recommend?

Vivid has the same number of adjusters 😉

CCDB on the mega doesn't need a sleeve, no rubbing at all, works perfectly.

Bwaarp- I never got as far as asking tunes. Will do that when I am purchasing. Very helpful on phone so just give them a call. Not pushing for sales so will give you info I think.

Legend- quote from tf tuned site " the Vivid is durable and adjustable with controls to let you dial beginning and end stroke rebound as well as low speed compression". So it has one less compression adjustment over the CCDB.

The reason I'm choosing the CCDB is because I'm still young, I will no doubt have at least one more AM style frame before I get old and go XC! lol. So I will beable to swap the shock over with minimal hassel.

Just off the phone to Hotlines who are main distributor for Nukeproof. They are going to call me back.

The guy I was speaking to had just fitted a RS Monarch Plus and says its good, but he did recommend the Mid/High tune option.

He also said the CCDB would be the better choice over a Vivid purely for the shock tunes which can be done on the CCDB will suit the frame better.

He thinks that Nukeproof have been testing the CCDB on the Mega with the thoughts of releasing it as an option upgrade. Once he calls back after speaking to Nukeproof I will post an update.

What Ti spring are you using, I have got just a steel one on my CCDB and it rubs the sleeve.

Yes, from what I've heard through a bike shop that sells a lot of Nukeproof, they are bringing out a Mega with a redesigned linkage with 160mm of travel and the option for either a Monarch Plus or a CCDB.

You can get the Vivid from Germany for 190 quid so I would prefer to spend that over 500 quid for the CCDB if at all possible,

Ok, interesting. Is it a redesigned frame or just the linkage?

I think the vivid would be fine. Prob best to ask TF Tuned though.

I'm not so sure, I will be slightly irate if it's a new frame but the rumours I've heard is that it's just a new link.

It's all rumours though, however I've heard the same from a few other independent people connected to the bike industry.

I just spoke with my local bike shop where I bought my Mega from.

He is going to make a couple of calls and get back to me. He said there has been quite a few rumours flying around just now with Nukeproof. So will see what he says.

If true it changes my plans completely and I will wait for new Linkage. If Hotlines phone me back I will ask them also.

Nice one Gdub, if it is the case I'll wait for the new link and save up for a CCDB in the meantime.

It could well be bollocks though, let us know!

I don't think Nukeproof realized how much of a hit the Mega would be with ex-downhillers, so underestimated the amount of people who want coils on the bike as opposed to XC derived air can! I don't know of any other bike that has quite so many posts titled "Can I fit a coil on a Mega" etc.

in the words of my local bike shop from hotlines, "utter bollocks!" They also said why would we mess about with a Bike which Dirt have just reviewed as one of the Best 150mm Travel bikes out there.

So thats made my choice a bit easier, still between RS Monarch Plus and the CCDB.

The rumours you might have hearing about is the fact that Nukeproof are testing a large range of shocks on the Mega to see whats best.

Cool, okay! Must have been a typo, the shop supposedly got a catalogue listing the 2013 parts that listed the bike as having 160mm of rear travel, with two shock options. Rumours hey? Nevermind!

I would go for the CCDB or the Vivid Air (I have not heard great things about the CCDB air). I don't think the Monarch would be a good enough upgrade, it's not going to offer any more midrange support unless you go with the low volume option and then you can run into other issues.

You could perhaps, import a tuned RC3 Plus from Push. They informed me that they could offer a shock with more midrange compression support on the rear.

I haven't seen the new catalog, but I find typos all over the place in manuals and catalogs which I use for work.
I have also heard that the CCDB air is not going quite as good as expected, but its a new product, and you will get teething issues. The mega has the welds snapping on the chainstays on a limited number of bikes too, but thats been sorted now.

Hopefully you have luck with what ever shock you fit.

Post you results as it will be interesting to hear whats good.

egend- quote from tf tuned site " the Vivid is durable and adjustable with controls to let you dial beginning and end stroke rebound as well as low speed compression". So it has one less compression adjustment over the CCDB.

Doh. In my mind it had high and low speed compression too

If the vivid had High and Low Speed compression, that is the shock I would be getting.

It would match up perfect with my Lyrik RC2 DH forks.

High and Low speed rebound is more important than compression. The classic way of altering how a shock sits in its travel is through rebound.

The Rock Shox engineers have previously stated they think the same way, do you think they would design a shock that doesn't match perfectly with their own fork? I would place a bet that you would get a balanced suspension set up more quickly with the vivid than you will the the CCDB, but that with the CCDB you may be able to tune it in a little more to your taste.

I'd rather go with a shock that I'm not going to mess up to easily like you can with shocks with broad ranges of adjustments like the ccdb.

Then again, as others have said, the choice of the preset three high speed compression tunes, that you get with the vivid, may not be perfect for the Mega.

Somewhere on the Rockshox website it says the Monarch Plus is the shock to match up with the Lyriks.

My main thought is its still an Air shock. If a Coil is going to do the job better, thats what I am going to go for. Otherwise it will be a Monarch Plus.

I think as long as you stick to the same manufacturers shocks, they all do. The Lyriks just feel like a smaller version of the Boxxers to me etc.

If you realy must go with an air shock, I think the Vivid Air on the rear would be a good complement and only 200 grams heavier than the Monarch. Even with a Titanium coil the vivid air is still a fair bit lighter! There have been a few guys running them on Megas over at MTB-News.De, whilt a lot of downhillers really rave about the shock.

Here's a nice review! I don't entirely agree with it, I still prefer my coil shocks.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/product/feature/Real-Life-Comparison-Vivid-Air-and-Vivid-Coil,32

I hadn't thought about the Vivid Air, partly because I didn't know they did a 200*57mm size.

I will make my decision once Hotlines call back with the Feedback from Nukeproof directly.

I think the Lyriks are awesome and got them set up and dialed in fairly quickly. Only time they are not so good is when I land front heavy....so can only blame my self there though

Mega with a Vivid Air, it looks good!

[img] [/img]

Just off the phone with Hotlines.

Nukeproof have been testing the CCDB Coil Shock on the Mega and are very pleased with the results!

Also, the Mega Linkage will NOT be getting changed, and the Mega is unchanged for 2013 also. So it wont be 160mm travel in the near future.

It does look nice with the Vivid Air but I think I am going to go the whole hog and get the CCDB as I have a small Black and Gold theme going on.

Will Try get a pic up soon of current setup and after.